Berhan Şimşek

Berhan Şimşek — Biography

Berhan Şimşek is an actor whose career began in cinema in 1977 and extended into television, and who pursued it alongside politics. He was born in Bayburt, came to Istanbul at a young age, went to work early and completed his schooling in night classes. In film he is remembered for playing Mehmet Ali Ağca in Uzlaşma and for productions such as Yolcu and Şarkıcı, and on television for the series Kuruluş. Besides acting he served as a CHP member of parliament and as a provincial party chairman.

He began by acting in photo-novels and moved to cinema in 1977, playing Halil in Sevgili Oğlum. In the 1980s he appeared in films such as Batak, Antepli, Son Akın (as Kara Murat), İpekçe, Gömlek and Ferman, and played the lead in Yücel Çakmak's Minyeli Abdullah. The 1990s brought Kurt Kanunu, Uzlaşma, Işıklar Sönmesin, Hoşçakal Yarın and Yolcu; in the 2000s he played Refik Bey in Şarkıcı and produced the 2002 film Keje. He has also directed for television. He received the Magazine Journalists Association's Best Actor award and the Best Actor award at the 1994 Ankara Film Festival, and is a founder of the Contemporary Cinema Actors Association.

In politics he was elected to the CHP Party Assembly in 1999, served as an Istanbul member of parliament from 2002 to 2007 and sat on the Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Committee. In 2010-2011 he was CHP Istanbul provincial chairman. He completed a business degree in 2011 and a master's in public law at Yeditepe University in 2014.